Feed-water heater for locomotive-boilers



A. n. Houses. FEED WATER'HEATER FR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS. v APPLICATION FILED IAN. l2. 1918. 11,335,439. i' Patented Mar. 30, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. R. HonGEs. FEED WATER HEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS.

APPLICATION man JAN'. 12, 191s.

Patented Mar. 30, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WW1/moo v i MM A.R.HonEs. FEED WATER HEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVE BILERS.

` APPLCATlON FILED JAN. IZA. i918.

1,335,439. Patented Mar. 3o, 1920. l

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

3 uw utoz UNED sra'rns e ALLAN a. HODGES, or cercado, ILLINOIS,l issie-Non or ONE-HALE To crans A. MGALLIsTEE, 0F MEE/Irma- TENNESSEE.

.FEED-WATER HEATER FOR LOCOMOTlVE-BOILERS.

Specc-ation of Letters Batent. Patented B131?, 309, 1920,

l'Application iledJ'anuary 12, 1918-. Serial No. 211,636;-

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALLAN R. HoDGEsfa citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Feed-Tater Heaters for Locomotive-Boilers, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in feedV water heaters for steam boilers, moreV tion without impairing the draft; which shall be so arranged that its installation does not entail any change whatever in the structure or disposition of the smolIeboX inclosed parts and will permit of the said parts being constructed and arranged, as heretofore, in accordance with the type of locomotive desired; which 4shall not interfere with the usual arrangement forA supplying vfeed water to the boiler, thereby rendering such arrangements. available in .an emergency.; which may, if desired, or necessary in; an emergency be 'cut off from, and therefore rendered independent of the boiler and feed water supply system; which may be as readily appliedto locomotives in service as to those in course of construction; which may be constructed in the shop independently of the boiler. and may be installed or removed with facility and in a very short time; and which shall be of simple struc-v tural character and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

With the above objects in view the invention, generally stated, consists in a feed water heater in association with the smokebox whereby the waste gases of combustion, which. in all cases..have a relatively high fuel efficiency are diverted and utilized prior to their discharge into thev atmosphere; and in connection with a feed water hpater having the above essential characteristics the invention also consists in certain features of structure. .combination and relation in-` volving details ef the feed' Water heater and.

of its relation to the smokebox, as will be set forth at length in the succeeding description. 1

'An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: l 1

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section showing a feed Water heater in which the.

features of the invention are incorporated. and its operative` relation'to the smoleboxand the front portionA of the boiler of a standard locomotive. y

Fig. 2 is a view partlyin transverse section, on the line 2 2 of Fig. `land partly in front elevation.

Fig. 3 is aplan view -inh'alf' of which the outer shell has been omitted toV show the inv ternal radiating arrangement of the tubes through which the waste gases-i pass from the smokebox. l Y

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The invention is applicable to any'standl ard type of locomotive and its installation does not in any way interfere with any desired arrangement or structure of the smokeboX inclosed parts.

The invention is shown as applied to a wel-l known type of locomotive having its smokebox A located, as usual, in front lof the boiler B. Figs. 1 and 2 showr in broken lines the usual smokeboX inclosed parts, viz. the dry-pipe fitting C, the diaphragm D,the engine exhaust E. the petticoat-pipe F and the smokestack lift-pipe G.

The shell of the smokebox 'is utilized throughout its upper portion as the inner shell l of the casing of the feed water heater, the said casing also including anouter shell 2', a front plate or head 3 and a rear plate or head 4.

The outer shell is arranged transversely over the shell* l with which, in the embodiment disclosed, it forms a -crescent shaped inclosure and is provided along its sides with off-set terminal flanges 5 which serve for its attachment` preferably by Ineansofv rivets 6, to the shell 1. The heads 3 and 4 conform to the cross-sectional outline of the inclosure formed by the shells 1' and 2 and are provided at their upper endsv with inturned flanges 7 which. are secured, prefer ablybv welding. to the transverse l.edges of' .Shell .2.. and' @t their @ede with rivets 9 to the shell 1. In the embodiment disclosed the flange 8 of the head 3 partly circumscribes the front smokeboX ring H and the flange 8 of the head 4 partly circumscribes the front edge portion of the boiler shell. 4

The casing of the feed water heater is completed by an open ended cylinder 10 which preferably has a slight upward flare and has the same location asl the usual smokestack whose place it takes. rlhe cylinder 10 is provided along its upper and lower edges with circumscribing flanges 11 whichare secured, preferably by welding, to the respective shells 1 and 2. As a means of protection for the cylinder 10` at its jointure With the shells, rings 12 and 13 are fitted over the respective upper and lower ends of said cylinder, said rings being secured to the shells preferably by rivets. Thek lower ring 13 forms, in effect, an extension of the usual smokestack lift-pipe G.

For bracing and strengthening purposes transverse bars 14 are suitably arranged against the outer faces of the heads 3 and 4,

.Y the correspondingly located bars on the two heads being held in place by tie-rods l5 which are located internally and externally of the feed water heater.

The shells 1 and 2 may also bebraced to one another by any suitable arrangement ofv Vtransverse partition 18; andV in order that water may pass from the front compartment to the rear compartment and may have an effective circulation in the rear compartment it is preferred to employ a pipe 19, connected near the upper edge of the partition 18, and

Y arranged in the rear compartment, said pipe following the curve ofthe outer shell to a point near the lowest point of the compartlnient where it is provided with an angular or upturned discharge terminal.

The fuel value of the gases of combustion is utilized by a relatively large number of heating tubes 2O which` extend between the shell 1 and the cylinder 10 and through 'which the gases are passed'from the smokeboX to the interior of the cylinder 10 by which they are discharged into the atmosphere. The tubes 20 are arranged radially with reference to the cylinder 10 at regulai. intervals throughout its circumference and, having relativelysmall diameters, are preferably Vdisposed in parallel or concentric courses or tiers, the ends of the tubes being water heater.

suitably fitted in openings provided therefor in the shell 1 and cylinder 10. The number of courses or tiers of tubes 20 should be such as to best utilize the areas of the cylin- Y der 1() and shell 1 available for the attachment of 'said tubes. It is obvious that by providing a relatively large number of relatively narrow tubes for the passage of gas from the smokebox to the interior of the cylinder 10 advantages are secured in that the draft will not be impaired, the aggregate heating surface for the water is relatively large, and the heat or fuel value of the waste gases is most effectively utilized,

The usual boiler feed pipe is connected to an extension feed pipe 21 which, by means of an injector (not shown) operating in the usual manner, supplies the feed water heater, the pipe 21 being connected with the chamber 16 of the feed water heater by an inlet check 23 lof the usual construction. The pipe 21 is preferably provided with a globe or other suitable valve 218t by whichthe feed water heater may, if found necessary or desirable, be rendered independent of the boiler and of the feed water system, asin case of an injury to the feed water heater while the locomotive is in service,. e., making a run, or in connection with the cleaning of the feed If, while the feed water heater is thus cut off by the valve 21, it should be necessaryV to supply the boiler with feed water this can be done in the usual manner, the boiler feedpipe being provided, beyond the pipe 21 with the usual Aboiler valve and check 22. Y

By virtue of the provision of the chambers 16 and 17 the water is heated in two stages, its initial heating in the chamber 16 being effected by those gases which, owing to their proximity to the cold front plate of the locomotive, are of the lowest heat or fuelv value, and its subsequent heating in the chamber 17 being effected by those gases whose heat or fuel value is greatest. The heated feed water is conducted from the heater to the boiler by a pipe 24 which, adjacent the feed water heater, is provided with a suitable outletcheck 25. The elevation of the point of communication of the pipe 24 with the feed water heater is selected to insure that a considerable quantity of water shall always remain in the heater;

AThe pipe 24 preferably discharges upon a splash plate 24a suitably supported inthe boiler and provided as a means of protection to the boiler tubes or fiues, directly under the discharge end of the pipe 24, thisv off cock 27 and with suitably arranged wash-out plugs 28, which may be removed when the heater is to be cleaned, this being effected by suitable washing out operations.

It is obvious that the feed water heater, constructed as above described, will suffer the ill effects of thescale forming properties of bad water and will, therefore, provide a substantial measure of protection for the boiler. The lodgment of scale or deposit within the feed water heater does not, however, constitute any serious disadvan tage to the heater because of the facility with which its interior may be cleaned by virtue of the wash-out plugs 28 and also because the crescent-shape form of the heater causes the precipitated solid matter to settle into the pockets (provided by the depending horns of the crescent) in whose outer Walls the plugs 28 are arranged.

The present invention, by virtue of the principles of structure and operation described effectively reclaims and utilizes a large percentage of the heat which is ordinarily wasted with the discharged gases of combustion and is calculated to represent a waste of about thirty per cent. of the fuel efficiency. By means of the present feed water heater all of the water supplied to the boiler may be readily pre-heated to teinperatures ranging from 250o to 3500 F.

Having fully described my invention, I claim- 1. A feed water heater for locomotive boilers comprising a casing arranged in external association with the boiler smokebox and having a feed water inlet and outlet, said casing utilizing as its inner shell the shell of the smokebox and having an outer shell arranged transversely over the inner place of the usual smokestack, and a plurality of open ended tubes arranged radially of said cylinder at regular intervals Y throughout its circumference, and disposed in courses or tiers, said tubes extending through the casing between the smokebox and the cylinder and serving to conduct the gases of combustion into said cylinder and to effect the heating of the water in said casing.

2. A feed water heater for locomotive boilers comprising a casing provided with a feed water inlet and outlet and having a crescent shaped cross-section which conforms to the curvature of the smoke box shell, the said casing being in external association with the upper side of the boiler smokebox, a cylinder extending through said casing and open to the smoke box and f to the atmosphere, said cylinder taking the place of the usual smoke stack, and a plurality of open ended tubes extending through said casing and between the smoke box and the cylinder to conduct gases of combustion into the cylinder and to effect the heating of the water in said casing, said tubes thereby being subject to atmospheric draft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALLAN R. HODGES.

Witnesses:

E. C. CooN, C. A. McALLrsTER. 

